NEW Atari Punk Console w. CV Input Assembly Instructions

Welcome to the NEW Atari Punk Console w. CV Input Assembly Instructions!   If you’re new to circuit-building, this is a great kit because it’s easy and makes some crazy sounds.  Let’s get started!

BOM Layout

If you received your kit and you’re ready to build, the first step is to check to see if you have all of the parts.  Check your kit against the APC BOM.  If you’re missing anything, we’ll send it to you free of charge.

PCB Components

IC/Resistors

Our first step will be inserting the 556 Timer IC into the PCB.  Orient the IC as shown in the picture above (the dot on the IC will be in the upper left-hand corner).  If the leads of the IC are too wide to fit into the through-holes, gently squeeze them inward until they all fit.  You may find it easier to insert one side of the IC and then squeeze the other side.

There are 4 resistors to place onto the PCB.  R1 and R2 are 1kΩ resistors (colored brown-black-red-gold), R3 is a 4.7kΩ resistor (colored yellow-violet-red-gold), and R4 is a 10kΩ resistor (colored brown-black-orange-gold).

Capacitors

The next part of our build are the capacitors.  C1 and C2 are non-polar ceramic capacitors, so their leads can go in either through-hole their silkscreen designates.  They look similar, but they have different values that are printed on their body in small lettering.  C1 will have a ’103′ and C2 will be labeled ’104′.

C3 is a 10μF polarized electrolytic capacitor.  These capacitors must be placed correctly for the circuit to function correctly.  Most electrolytic capacitors have a thin band on their body (black in the picture above) that denotes the negative lead.  New electrolytic capacitors will also have a longer positive lead.

On the PCB, C3′s silkscreen identifier has a square through-hole with a ‘+’ next to it.  This is where the positive lead is inserted.  The negative lead is inserted into the circle through-hole.

LED

LEDs are polar components just like electrolytic capacitors.  They also have a longer positive lead.  D1 indicates whether or not the circuit is receiving power and will be the first indication that your circuit is built correctly, so this step is important.  Insert the longer positive lead into the circle through-hole and the shorter negative lead into the square through-hole.

If you plan to put your circuit into a case, you may want to use wire to extend where the LED can be mounted.

Alright, that’s the end of the components directly soldered to the PCB.  We’re halfway done!

Wired Components

Potentiometers

Our first wired components to add to the PCB are POT2 and POT3, the 500kΩB potentiometers.

If you look at the PCB, you will see the numbers outside of the rectangle silkscreen identifier for POT2 and POT3.

Match the PCB through-holes to the potentiometer solder lug numbering above.  Solder wires to the potentiometers, then insert them into their corresponding position.  The picture above shows a 100k pot, but be sure to use a 500k.

POT1 is a little bit different.  It has an on/off switch along with the normal potentiometer function (variable resistance).

Connect five wires to the potentiometer and run them parallel to the five through-holes at the lower right-hand corner of the PCB.

Power Connections/Jacks

Connecting the 9V battery adapter jack is easy, so we’ll do this first.  The red wire is connected to the square through-hole next to the ‘+’ silkscreen.  The black wire is connected to the circle through-hole next to the ‘-’.

The DC Jack is fairly straightforward.  Connect three wires to the DC Jack’s solder terminals and, using the picture above as a reference, connect them to the PCB at their respective through-holes.

The APC needs two mono jacks for the ‘CV-IN’ and ‘OUT’.  There are two solder lugs on 1/4″ mono jacks, with the ‘S’ standing for Sleeve and ‘T’ standing for Tip.  On the PCB, locate the through-holes for ‘CV-IN’ and ‘OUT’  Both of these have a ‘T’ and an ‘S’ next to the through-holes.  Using the picture above, connect the mono jacks to the PCB.

Congratulations, that’s the end of the assembly!  Put a battery into the 9v battery adapter jack, connect an external amplifier, and turn POT1 on.  Your LED should light up and you should have a gnarly sound coming out of your amp.  If it doesn’t work, go back through the instructions and carefully check all of your work.

Have fun with your new hand-made APC!!